Vehicle attachment.



PATENTBD JULY 25, 1905.

E.H.CUDDY. VEHICLE ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED D110. 12, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l l l a Ijs' indd

Attorneys Witnesses PATENTED JULY 25, 1905.

E. H. UUDDY. VEHICLE ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED DECJZ, 1'904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Attorneys pnrrn sfrafrns PATENT OFFICE.

VEHICLE ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

liatented July 25, 1905.

Application led December 12, 1904. Serial No. 236,469.

To all wir/077e t may concern.'

Be it known that I, EDWARD HENRY CUDDY, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Fort Villiam, county of Thunder Bay, in theProvince of Ontario, Canada, have invented. certain new and usefulImprovements in Vehicle Attachments; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, suchas will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to makeand use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in attachmentsadapted vto be connected with wheeled vehicles whereby said wheeledvehicles may be used upon snow and ice; and it consists in certainfeatures of novelty in the detail construction and arrangement thereof,all as hereinafter more fully described, and specifically pointed out inthe claims.

The object of the invention is to provide attachments which may beplaced upon any ordinary wheeled vehicle of the class shown in thedrawings and carried thereby in position ready for use in the event ofsnow-covered roads being encountered,said attachment comprising simpledevices of minimum weight combined with maximum strength and greatdurability.

Referring` to the annexed drawings, in which similar numerals ofreference indicate corresponding' parts in all the views, Figure 1 is aplan of the underframing of a wheeled vehicle equipped with theinvention. Fig. 2 is a side elevational view thereof, showing thevehicle elevated and supported by the runners illustrated in said figurewith the nearer wheels removed; and Fig. 3 represents a detail ofconstruction hereinafterreferred to.

Carried by brackets 4, which are connected with the forward end of thevehicle-body 5, is a vertically-extending staff 6, rotatable in saidbrackets, upon the upper end of which is carried a hand-wheel 7, whichmay be adjustable vertically upon said staff and is provided with anysuitable means for securing it in position-as, for example, theset-screws 8 passing through the hub of said wheel 7 and bearing againstsaid staff. Secured on the staff 6 is a bevel-gear 9, which meshes witha correspondingly-beveled gear 10 on the shaft 11, which latter extendstransversely of the vehicle at the front end thereof. On the shaft 11are drums 12 12, one at each end of said shaft, and wound upon said drumin the same direction are cords or cables 13, which pass thence throughthe pulley-blocks 14 and are connected, by means of the clips 15, withthe vehicle-bolster 16. Connected with the pulley-blocks 14 are cords orcables 17, which pass thence through the pulley-blocks 18, which aresupported on the sleigh-bunk 19 and extend forwardly to the eyes orclips 20, which are secured to said bolster 16. Extending from the frontaxle 21 to the rear axle 22 of the wheeled vehicle is a wagon reach-pole23, upon which is supported the pulley-block 24, as by means of the loopor eye 25, which passes through said reach-pole. found upon the drum 26upon said shaft 11 is a cord or cable 27, which is wound in a directionopposite to that of the cables 13 and extends through the pulley-block24 and downwardly, as best shown in Fig. 1, where said cable 27 passesthrough the pulley-block 28, which is supported by the sleigh reach-pole29, said latter reach-pole extending from the rear bunk 19 to theforward bunk 30, said bunks serving as holsters connecting thesleigh-runners 31, which are provided at opposite sides of the vehicleand are carried, preferably, between the wheels 32 of the Vehicle. Itwill be noted that the pulley-block 28 is located in near proximity toand slightly to the rear of the vehicle-axle 21, and from the block 28said cable 27 is carried rearwardly and upwardly, where it is connectedwith one end of the coil-spring 33, while from the opposite end of saidcoil-spring 33 an extension 27a of said cable 27 passes through thepulley-block 34, which is supported by the' said reachpole 23, and afterpassing through said pulley-block 34 said cable 27at passes downwardly.and through the pulleyblock 35, which is connected to the reachpole 29just forwardly of the rear sleigh-runners 31, after which the cable 27arises obliquely upwardly and terminates in the eyelet 36, which issecured to the reach-pole 23 just forwardly of the rear axle 22.

Supported by the upper bracket 4 before referred to or by any convenientmeans in proximity thereto is a transversely-extending bar 38, uponwhich is pivotally mounted the rockable-pawl-arm 39, upon which areformed the pawls 4() and 41, the pawl 40 being adapted to cooperate withthe ratchetwheel 42 and the pawl 41 being adapted to cooperate with theratchet-wheel 43, which ratchet-wheels 42 and 43 may be integral and arecarried upon a non-circular portion of the shaft 6, as shown in Fig. 3,whereby the ratchet-wheels 42 and 43 are necessarily rotated with thesaid stad, so that the staff may be locked by means of the pawls 40 and4l in any desired position, so as to hold the runners 3l at any desiredposition.

Extending downwardly from the axles 21 and 22 are links 44, which arepivotally connected, by means of clips 45, with said axles and with thebunks or holsters of the sleighs.

The operation of the device is as follows: Depending onv the manner inwhich the cables referred to are wound upon the drums 1Q and 26,rotation of the wheel 7 will cause corresponding' rotation of thebevel-gear 9, thus rotating the shaft 11 and said drums, so that whenrotated in one direction the cables 13 will be wound upon the drums 12and the cable 27 will be unwound from its drum Q6, thereby lowering` therunners 31 to the ground and preserving1 the proper position thereof bymeans of the reach-pole 29 and links 44 before referred to; but when itis desired to raise the runners 3l, so as to use the vehicle as a wagon,the stadl 6 is rotated in the opposite direction, whereupon the cable 2Tis wound upon its drum 26 and the runners 3l by means of said cable andthe pulley-blocks 24, 28, 34, and 35 referred to are drawn rearwardlyand upwardly from the ground.

Extending from the rear bolster 16 to the forward end of the reach-pole29 is a connecting chain or cable 46, which is connected with the clipor eyelet 47 at one end and with the pin 48 at its opposite end, and itwill be evident that said brace will materially reinforce the structurewhen in use and prevent excessive forward thrust of the links 44 andrunners 31.

Connecting the rear runners 31 with the reach-pole Q9 are rods 49, whichassist in holding said rear runners in alinement, and it will be evidentthat the forward runners may be connected in any convenient manner withthe other parts of the vehicle to preserve the proper alinement thereof.

It is preferred that the rigging for the structure thus provided mayconsist of chain or wire rope, or both, as may be found most suitable,while the frame for connecting the sleigh-bunks to wagon-axles or theaxles of the wagon may be constructed of metal or wood and properlybraced with sufficient allowance in the castings and pivotal points topermit of sufficient lateral movement being available for the freecurving of the front axle when the runners are drawn up and the wheelsare in use.

It will be evident that the runners and their attachments may beconnected with any ordinary vehicle which is provided with a reachextending from front to rear bolster, in which case the connectionsreferred to as secured to the reach 23 should be connected with saidreach; but if for any reason a reach is not provided these connectionsmay be made with the wagonbody or with brackets or other members (notshown) extending below said body.

I/Vhile I have shown in the accompanying drawings the preferred form ofmy invention, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise form shown, for many of the details may be changed in form orposition without affecting the operativeness or utility of my invention,and I therefore reserve the right to make all such modifications as areincluded within the scope of the following claims or of mechanicalequivalents to the structure set forth.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent,

l. In combination with a wheeled vehicle, a plurality of runnerspivotally connected with the vehicle, a horizontal shaft rotatablysecured on the forward end of the vehicle, drums mounted on the shaft, aplurality of oppositely-wound cables secured on the drums and connectedto the runners, and means for rotating the shaft, whereby the runnersmay be raised and lowered.

2. In combination with a wheeled vehicle, a plurality of runnerspivotally connected with the vehicle, cables connected with the runners,a resilient member disposed on one of said cables intermediate of itslength, and drums on which said cables may be wound, whereby the runnersare raised and lowered.

3. In combination with a wheeled vehicle, a plurality of runnerspivotally connected with the vehicle, a horizontal shaft rotatablysecured on the forward end of the vehicle, drums mounted on the shaft, aplurality of oppositely-wound cables wound on the drums and secured tothe runners, a bevel-gear secured on said shaft, a vertical stadrotatably mounted on the vehicle, and a bevel-gear thereon in mesh withthe bevel-gear on the shaft, whereby the shaft may be rotated.

4. In combination with a wheeled vehicle, a plurality of runnerspivotally connected with the vehicle, a horizontal shaft rotatablysecured on one end of the vehicle, drums mounted on the shaft, aplurality of oppositelywound cables wound on the drums and secured tothe runners, a bevel-gear secured on the shaft, a vertical staffrotatably mounted on the vehicle, a bevel-gear thereon in mesh with thebevel-gear on the shaft, whereby said shaft may be rotated, aratchet-wheel on the staff and a pawl adapted to engage theratchet-wheel.

5. In combination with a wheeled vehicle, a plurality of runnerspivotally secured to the Vehicle, a horizontal-shaft rotatably securedon the forward end of the vehicle, drums secured on the shaft, aplurality of cables wound oppositely on the drums and secured to therunners, a bevel-gear secured on the shaft, a vertical staff rotatablysecured on the vehicle, a bevel-gear on the staff in engagement with abevel-gear on the shaft, a ratchet-wheel having two sets of teethmounted on the sta,

and an arm pvoted to the Vehicle and provided with oppositely-disposedends adapted to engage said teeth alternately.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

EDVARD HENRY OUDDY. Witnesses:

J. H. N EELAND, M. C. LILLIE.

